Government of Canada releases report following the appointment of Justice Michelle O'Bonsawin to the Supreme Court of Canada

OTTAWA, ON, Oct. 4, 2022 /CNW/ - The Supreme Court of Canada is recognized nationally and internationally for its excellence. To continue to improve upon this tradition, in 2016 the government introduced an open and transparent process to appoint a justice of the highest calibre who would be functionally bilingual and representative of the diversity of our great country. It is this process that led to the appointment of Justice Michelle O'Bonsawin to the Supreme Court of Canada on September 1, 2022. 

In keeping with the openness and transparency of the new process, the Independent Advisory Board for Supreme Court of Canada Judicial Appointments was required to submit its report on the selection process to the Government of Canada within a month of the appointment of Justice O'Bonsawin.

On September 22, 2022, the Chair of the Advisory Board, the Honourable H. Wade MacLauchlan, provided the Government with its Report on the 2022 Process.

The report includes, among other things:

• a detailed description of the meetings, review process and recommendation process of the Advisory Board;
• a summary of consultations and outreach activities by the Advisory Board;
• statistics about the demographics of applicants; and
• the Advisory Board's recommendations on improvements to the appointment process and the work of the Advisory Board.

The report can be found on the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs' website.

Quick facts

• The Independent Advisory Board for Supreme Court of Canada Judicial Appointments was first established in August 2016. It is an independent and non-partisan body whose mandate is to provide non-binding, merit-based recommendations to the Prime Minister on Supreme Court of Canada appointments. The members of the Advisory Board were announced in April 2022.
• The Advisory Board is supported by the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs.
• Upon receiving the shortlist of potential nominees, the Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, undertook a careful, rigorous and thorough process of review and consultation.
• On August 24, 2022, the Minister and the Chair of the Advisory Board appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights to discuss the nomination. Details of the hearings are available from the Standing Committee's homepage Committee's homepage.
• On August 24, 2022, the nominee to the Supreme Court of Canada participated in a moderated question-and-answer session before parliamentarians.

Associated links

• Members of the Advisory Board
• The Independent Advisory Board for Supreme Court of Canada Judicial Appointments
• Qualifications and Assessment Criteria
• The Honourable Michelle O'Bonsawin questionnaire
• Supreme Court Act
• Frequently Asked Questions

SOURCE Department of Justice Canada

media may contact: Chantalle Aubertin, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Justice, 613-992-6568, [email protected]; Media Relations, Department of Justice Canada, 613-957-4207, [email protected]